{ "archive_path": "archive/1787695790.185217", "base_url": "www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter", "basename": "our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter", "bookmarked_date": "2026-08-25 22:09", "canonical": { "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter", "dom_path": "output.html", "favicon_path": "favicon.ico", "git_path": "git/", "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.twz.com", "headers_path": "headers.json", "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt", "index_path": "index.html", "media_path": "media/", "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html", "pdf_path": "output.pdf", "readability_path": "readability/content.html", "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png", "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html", "warc_path": "warc/", "wget_path": "www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter.html" }, "domain": "www.twz.com", "extension": "", "hash": "EGS8QMK44BH8ASW9CASW", "history": { "archive_org": [], "dom": [], "favicon": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "60", "--output", "favicon.ico", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.twz.com" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.674054+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "favicon.ico", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.218471+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "git": [], "headers": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--head", "--max-time", "60", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.922578+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.679401+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [], "media": [], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js", "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" ], "cmd_version": "1.0.0", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:20.101902+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:15.590798+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmppcv8ihlf", "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:15.583857+00:00", "index_texts": [ "The TWZ Newsletter\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWeekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\nChina\u2019s new medium-sized tactical airlifter is emerging from the shadows, as much clearer imagery becomes available. Previously widely referred to as the \u201cY-30,\u201d the four-turboprop transport now appears to be designated the Y-15, a change reflected by the prototype\u2019s apparent \u201c15001\u201d serial number and increasingly supported by open-source reporting.\n\n\n\nA new inflight view of the Y-15.\u00a0via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nNew imagery provides a much better appreciation of the aircraft\u2019s configuration. Developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation (SAC), the Y-15 is intended to provide a modern replacement for older Y-8-series transports and, eventually, the Y-9, while giving China a more capable turboprop airlifter suited to operations from relatively austere airfields. While the Y-9 is a modernized Y-8, the older design is a direct copy of the Soviet\u00a0Antonov An-12, first flown in 1957.\n\n\n\nThe Y-15 in the process of retracting or deploying its landing gear.\u00a0via Chinese internet via Chinese internet\n\n\n\nThe new Chinese aircraft first became publicly associated with the Y-30 designation after a model appeared at the 2014 Zhuhai Airshow. That designation subsequently became widely used in reporting about the program.\n\n\n\nA model of the \u201cY-30\u201d displayed at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2014.\u00a0via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nThe program then went quiet, before unofficial reports in 2023 that work had resumed at SAC. The first flight-test imagery of the prototype appeared in December 2025, as we reported at the time.\n\n\n\nAbove and below: Two of the first images of the Y-15.\u00a0via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nvia Chinese internet \n\n\n\nThe Y-15 has four turboprop engines driving six-blade\u00a0high-efficiency propellers. Its overall configuration is notably different from China\u2019s larger, jet-powered Y-20 and instead puts it in the same broad operational category as aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J.\n\n\n\nThe configuration also has some obvious visual similarities to the Airbus A400M. The Chinese aircraft has a relatively broad fuselage, a rear loading ramp, heavy-duty landing gear, a high-mounted wing, and a T-tail. \n\n\n\nUnlike the swept wing of the A400M, the Chinese transport has a comparatively straight high-lift wing, with substantial winglets (lacking on the European design) at the tips. The arrangement should help the aircraft combine useful cruise efficiency with the low-speed performance needed for tactical transport operations. \n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tA400M, the airlifter of the 21st Century\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\nDespite its A400M-like appearance, the Y-15 appears to be a smaller aircraft in a different weight and performance class. The A400M\u2019s four TP400-D6 engines each produce around 11,000 horsepower, while the Chinese aircraft\u2019s WJ-10 turboprops are understood to produce substantially less \u2014 around 6,800 horsepower.\n\n\n\nThat suggests the Y-15 is a more natural counterpart to the C-130J and China\u2019s own Y-9 than to the A400M. \n\n\n\nUnconfirmed estimates have suggested a payload of around 30 metric tons, although that figure should be treated cautiously while the aircraft remains in testing. For comparison, the Y-9 is generally credited with a payload of roughly 25 tons, while the C-130J-30 is in the roughly 21-ton range. At the same time, the Y-15 is assessed to have a larger internal cargo space than the Y-9, with a greater height and width to accomodate bulkier payloads.\n\n\n\nvia Chinese internet \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne of the most obvious features of the flight-test aircraft is the long air-data boom projecting from the nose. Such booms are standard equipment on developmental aircraft, allowing engineers to collect precise measurements of air pressure, temperature, airflow, and other parameters during testing. Previous reports have erroneously identified this feature as an inflight refueling probe.\n\n\n\nThere is currently no refueling probe fitted to the prototype. That does not necessarily mean the capability will never be incorporated, however, especially as China continues to build its aerial tanker fleet. \n\n\n\nA YY-20A aerial tanker tops up a pair of J-16s. via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nChinese Y-8 and Y-9 derivatives have demonstrated how a common transport airframe can become the basis for substantially different configurations, including aircraft equipped for specialized missions. The same is likely for the Y-15, once it enters People\u2019s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) service.\n\n\n\nFor the PLAAF, the aircraft\u2019s rear loading ramp and heavy-duty landing gear will likely be particularly important. The aircraft appears designed not simply to move cargo between major airbases, but to operate closer to the battlefield and from runways that may be shorter, rougher, or otherwise less developed.\n\n\n\nAn early rear three-quarter view of the Y-15.\u00a0via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nThe PLAAF still operates substantial numbers of older Y-8-family transports, while the Y-9 has become the more modern turboprop workhorse. At the heavier end, the Y-20 is rapidly replacing remaining PLAAF Il-76 transports and provides the long-range strategic airlift capacity that the older fleet could not match.\n\n\n\nSpeaking to TWZ, Andreas Rupprecht, an expert on Chinese aviation\u00a0and contributor to this website, said he expected the Y-15 to replace the Y-9, a type that the PLAAF does not consider adequate for the tactical transport role, on account of its small cargo hold and underpowered engines.\n\n\n\nIts turboprop propulsion and apparent emphasis on short-field performance should make it particularly useful for moving troops, vehicles, supplies, and other equipment into locations where operating a large Y-20 would be impractical.\n\n\n\nAnother new underside view of the Y-15.\u00a0via Chinese internet \n\n\n\nThat could include dispersed bases and remote Chinese facilities, as well as the country\u2019s island outposts. The rapid reinforcement of units in remote regions such as Tibet would also be an obvious wartime mission. The aircraft could also provide a useful platform for airborne assault and airdrop missions, capabilities that have become increasingly important as the PLA has expanded the scope and sophistication of its joint operations. \n\n\n\nAn export drive is also highly likely, especially as the Y-15 will be immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to comparable Western designs. In the meantime, the Y-9 continues to win foreign orders, most recently being bought by Kazakhstan, which already operates the A400M \u2014 another signal of these two types\u2019 very different capabilities.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWell, that's an interesting start into the day: Two mayor Y-9 news!!First, as the Y-9E's second customer (after Namibia), the Kazakhstan AF has introduced this type. pic.twitter.com/saHqbEF3oN\u2014 @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) August 14, 2026\n\n\n\n\n\nWith flight testing now apparently ramping up, the next major questions will be how closely its eventual performance matches the estimates surrounding it, and how quickly China moves from a single prototype to a production fleet.\n\n\n\nContact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com" ], "output": "readability", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:13.108824+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "screenshot": [], "singlefile": [], "title": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "60", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:13.104288+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "Our Best Look At China\u2019s New Y-15 Turboprop Airlifter", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:13.053546+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "wget": [ { "cmd": [ "wget", "--no-verbose", "--adjust-extension", "--convert-links", "--force-directories", "--backup-converted", "--span-hosts", "--no-parent", "-e", "robots=off", "--timeout=60", "--restrict-file-names=windows", "--warc-file=/data/archive/1787695790.185217/warc/1787696419", "--page-requisites", "--user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) wget/GNU Wget 1.21.3", "--compression=auto", "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" ], "cmd_version": "GNU Wget 1.21.3", "end_ts": "2026-08-25T22:21:13.047397+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter.html", "pwd": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.928664+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ] }, "icons": null, "is_archived": true, "is_static": false, "latest": { "archive_org": null, "dom": null, "favicon": "favicon.ico", "git": null, "media": null, "pdf": null, "screenshot": null, "singlefile": null, "title": "Our Best Look At China\u2019s New Y-15 Turboprop Airlifter", "warc": null, "wget": "www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter.html" }, "link_dir": "/data/archive/1787695790.185217", "newest_archive_date": "2026-08-25T22:21:15.590798+00:00", "num_failures": 0, "num_outputs": 6, "oldest_archive_date": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.218471+00:00", "path": "/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter", "schema": "Link", "scheme": "https", "snapshot_id": "66e12081-0ef0-49fb-be4f-13ed15d9c8ce", "sources": [ "/data/sources/1787695790-import.txt" ], "tags": null, "tags_str": "", "timestamp": "1787695790.185217", "title": "Our Best Look At China\u2019s New Y-15 Turboprop Airlifter", "updated": "2026-08-25T22:20:19.217995+00:00", "updated_date": "2026-08-25 22:20", "url": "https://www.twz.com/air/our-best-look-at-chinas-new-y-15-turboprop-airlifter" }